Question 1

What did Egyptian jewellery look like?

Accepted Answer

The answer is strikingly similar to the designs of modern Egyptian jewellery, which is astounding considering the Egyptian jewellery working techniques available at the time. Egyptian signet ring and one of the Ancient Egyptian faience beads The ring on the left is a stirrup shape signet ring which has been cast using the lost wax process. The hieroglyphics would have been used with hot wax, as a seal to stamp official documents and letters but also to adorn the finger of an important figure (priestly official). Signet rings were often designed with a swivelling bezel and regularly incorporated a scarab beetle as the central Egyptian motif. (In a nutshell, Scarabs represented the cycle of life). The ring on the right is made of faience which is powdered quartz with a vitreous coating, usually blue-green in colour. Ancient Egyptian faience beads have the characteristics of clay and can be moulded, but they’re actually more like glass. The coloured faience in the centre of the ring was used to imitate Lapis and Carnelian in this example.

Question 2

What Materials Was Ancient Egyptian Jewellery Made From?

Accepted Answer

The Egyptians used glass extensively in their jewellery. It was used to create a plethora of different coloured beads which were then strung together, sometimes with gold, to make fabulous collars, necklaces, rings and earrings. Glass was also used in intricate cloisonné work which is evident in many of the more important pieces of Egyptian jewellery of the time. The introducing of Egyptian glass jewellery meant jewellery craftsmen could imitate real stones, making it arguably the first costume jewellery! Ancient Egyptian faience beads as necklaces Beads were perhaps one of the most popular and versatile components of Egyptian jewellery. They were made in every material and instead of using expensive sheet. These Egyptian beads could be built up in considerable numbers to create large areas of decoration which are so synonymous with Egyptian jewellery design.

Question 3

What did the Egyptian colour scheme mean In Egyptian Jewellery?

Accepted Answer

It’s worth noting the importance of the Egyptian colour scheme, especially in Egyptian jewellery. They may not have had the range and options that we have today, but each colour used held great symbolic significance much like the jewellery that contained it. Blue was said to symbolize ‘rebirth and the shimmering sun’, and red with ‘birth and destruction”, associated with Osiris, the God of the Dead. However, it was gold/yellow which was revered above all others due to its association with the sun and ‘the flesh of the Gods’. It was the colour of the gods and royalty, and was the object of desire for most people, which is not so dissimilar to the way our jewellery culture is known today.

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